All The Stars Now Fade Away
by Yarrunmace
Summary: 10 years after the incident in Subterranean Animism, Kanako has staged a technological takeover. Gensokyo has been greatly modernized and Kanako controls all of it. However, the return of the shrine maiden, as well as an errant magician, may change things
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Incident-Solving

_All the stars now fade away_

_And the sky's not here to stay._

_Never look back, live for today,_

_For the next sunrise will not be the same.*_

The song drifted through the smoky atmosphere of the club. A few heads rose from their drinks to look at the sparrow youkai on the stage or the light-haired pianist. Most just looked into their sake and sighed. The fluorescent lights shone feebly through the sense of blindness, shimmering in cups and dishes. ''The Wilted Flower'' ran on misery and sadness, and business was booming.

"More sake, miss?" said the bartender, knowing that the answer was always yes. The woman nodded under her hat, her head lying limply on the bar. The bartender grabbed the cheapest bottle of sake and began pouring. Her drinks were always paid to her tab, which was paid once every two months. It would be a while before the bar got that money back.

"Stupid, cheap-ass sake" she mumbled between sips. "You know, I deserve better than this. Do you know who I was! I've drunk oni sake! That stuff would whip whatever you call this, 'cause it sure ain't sake!'' She downed the rest of the sake in a few gulps and banged the cup on the bar until it was refilled.

"And of course, the best part about your former life was the sake" the bartender murmured, pouring himself a glass of sake. He always enjoyed the talkative drunks. Half the drunks in the city had stories about how they were great, how they used to be tough and fearsome. Humans, youkai, it didn't matter.

"What? No, idiot." The woman sat up on the bar stool. "The best part was the lasers! Shooting faeries out of the sky like it was nothing, I tell ya! Just went OONTZZZZZ and they all fell down, all…down." She slumped back down on the bar. "Down…falling down."

The bartender let a sad smile slide onto his face. _I'll humor her,_ he thought. He reached below the counter and pulled out one of the most expensive bottles of sake in the club. He went to pour it when he saw the miko.

"I think she's had enough." Reimu said. With a sweep of her gohei, she smashed the cup to the other end of the bar.

"Kirisame Marisa, get up." Marisa glanced back at her, bleary eyes widening in shock. She quickly turned back and pulled her hat over her eyes.

"Bartender, what did you put in that cup? I'm seeing hallucinations." Reimu sighed.

"Get. Up. I need you sober, Mari." With some difficulty, she pulled Marisa off the stool. The witch wobbled as she tried to keep her balance.

"How long has she been here?" Reimu said to the bartender. He looked at her and the witch in incredulity. _Hakurei and Kirisame, the famous incident solvers, in this shady bar? I don't believe it! The miko's clothes are tearing at the edges, and the witch has been drinking here since…_

"She's been in and out of here since we were founded 6 years ago." He paused a moment before venturing further. "Miss Hakurei, is she really…she's the witch who—"

"The Mountain Revolution hasn't been kind to us." She waved a hand at the tables separating the bar from the stage. Those who were still conscious looked towards the red-white figure in the haze. Mystia and Lyrica stopped their music and watched.

"If this place was around 10 years ago, before the Mountain, half of these people wouldn't be here. They'd be working, living, doing something with their lives. They wouldn't be stuck here like rats in a cage! They would be free." With that, Reimu pushed, carried, dragged Marisa to the door. The song didn't start again.

* * *

><p>"Marisa. Marisa, wake up!" Reimu prodded the witch a few times before yawning. "Will you wake up already? We have work to do!"<p>

Marisa grudgingly sat up and looked around the room, rubbing her aching head. The sunrise shone through the open window, burning her eyes. The room itself was barren except for a table of drawers to the left and the thin pallet under her. Reimu stood to the right, leaning on her gohei and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Marisa reached to pull her hat over her eyes, but she only touched air.

"Reimu, close that freaking window! My eyes are killing me! Where are we? And where's my hat?" With a brief look of concern, Reimu closed the window and the blinds.

"We're in a room that I'm renting until I'm done here. It's in one of the Western houses that were built after Kanako took over. I thought it would feel more like home to you." She gestured to the table, which held a cup of tea and a pile of black clothes. "As for your hat, I washed it, along with everything except your undershirt and bloomers. Do you have any idea how much dried beer I had to clean off?" Marisa looked down at her bloomers, pocked with beer stains near the ankles.

"Uh, thank you." Reimu picked up the cup of tea and gave it to Marisa.

"Don't worry about it. And here, drink this. Suika's secret hangover cure. She never used it herself, but it was always handy after parties." With a few sips, Marisa's headache began to fade and her eyes stopped aching. She quickly gulped down the rest of the cup.

"So, why did you come back?" she said as she pulled her shirt over her head. "I thought you were fed up with Kanako. You finally got tired of living by yourself out by the Border?"

"Of course not" Reimu said with a smile. "I'm here to do what I do best: solve incidents. And this time, Kanako's little pest won't interfere." Marisa paused while putting on her skirt. "There was a theft in the Scarlet Devil Complex. You don't know about it, I know. No one knows about it. I only know about it because Remilia sent a messenger to tell me. She's been keeping the situation secret. She doesn't want the word to get out, especially this close to her annual Setsubun celebration. So, it falls to me to solve this incident and also you."

"Wait, wait!" Marisa sprung to her feet. "Don't bring me into this! Not again!" Reimu stepped back, wielding her gohei. Marisa stopped, took a deep breath and continued. "Look, I miss the old days as much as you do. But I don't want to try and relive the past." Marisa opened the window. In the distance, near the mountain, factories and industrial plants churned. Across the window, a few faeries fiddled with a Windows 95 Desktop while a husband and a wife watched the television. "This is the world we live in. Television, phones—heck, the kappa are planning a system that will allow us to contact each other through these new computers. We're going forward, Reimu. We can't go back." Reimu looked out the window and sighed.

"It's…it's not about that. It's about that scheming go…" Silently, Reimu glanced at the open window. She closed it and continued more softly. "It's about that scheming god! Ever since she started her industrialization project, she's gotten her fingers into everything! Making an alliance with Kawashiro, buying off the Eientei crowd with financial support, spreading houses and streets and cars everywhere, forcing the youkai into jobs, forcing the humans to compete with them for jobs, splitting up the Prismriver Trio—"

"Come on, you actually believe that she was responsible for that? Look, Reimu, I know that she pushed you out when she made Sanae the official incident solver, but I'm still hanging on! I still get customers, occasionally…sometimes." For a split moment, her face fell, revealing the girl who drank constantly to ease her pain. Then, her face returned, held up by its expression of rage. "I have a place here! Just because you were thrown away doesn't mean I was!" They both stopped, breathing heavily.

"Okay. I'm sorry" Reimu said. With a sense of unease, she looked at the closed window. "To be honest, I didn't think you were really against Kanako. I just got sidetracked for a moment. I brought you here because someone you care about."

"Eh?" Marisa leaned in, frantic, grabbing Reimu by the shoulders. "It was Alice, wasn't it? She finally came back, didn't she? What did she do? What did she do?" Reimu gently pushed Marisa away.

"The thief stole her journals, the ones that she gave to Patchouli before she disappeared." For a minute, Marisa stood silently, in shock. Then, she fell back on the pallet.

"She's back, isn't she? I knew she'd be back. I know she's back!" she said in a hollow voice.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We don't know if this was done by Alice, or if she's returned. Still, why would a thief take only the encrypted journals of a magician who mysteriously disappeared 3 years ago, out of everything in the Mansion? Whatever the situation is, it has to involve her. Do you understand now? Do you understand how important this case is, for both of us?" Marisa stood up as Reimu continued. "We'll gain the favor of the only powerful figure in Gensokyo who doesn't kowtow to Kanako. If I can get Remilia to start supporting me, I might be able to start a resistance against the Sky Tyrant. And, we'll finally get more information on Alice's disappearance. So, will you join me?" Reimu stretched out her hand with a small smile. Marisa, after a moment's hesitation, grabbed her hat, pulled it over her head and shook Reimu's hand.

"It'll be…nice to be working with you again" Reimu said with a smile of nostalgia. Marisa returned it. "I'll go see the mansion for myself. You go see Kourin; I think he still has most of Alice's dolls. We'll meet back here by noon." Reimu gestured to the door. "Your broom's outside, but don't fly low. There's no need to attract suspicion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get dressed."

With that, Reimu slipped out the door.

* Set to the melody of _Deaf to All But the Song_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2A: The Estate of the Scarlet Devil

_I remember when Remilia first came here. It was the first big incident that I dealt with as a shrine maiden, and the first test of my spellcard system. I was so unsure of myself then, so easily flustered. I think that's what makes it one of my favorite incidents. Everything was much more frightening! I can't believe that I actually considered Cirno a threat! Or that I believed that Meiling would eat me. Even then, I'd prefer going back to those naïve days than living like this. Even now, I can't solve this my way, needles blazing. I have to do things carefully and quietly, or I'll have that green-haired bitch on my tail._

These thoughts ran through Reimu's head as she walked through the gate to the estate, tugging uncomfortably at the modern blouse and skirt that she wore.

Inside the gate, a thin line of flowers lined the bottom of the wall. They traced the edges of the many curving roads that meandered through the estate. Eventually, they all ended at one of the multiple attractions offered: the open-air pavilion which held many Prismriver concerts before their breakup, the small beach at the shore, the indoor pool, the gate to the mansion (which remained closed to the public), the public wing of the library. Behind all of it, the Lake shone in the late winter sun, the mist shimmering in the light. Reimu saw all this from the giant map at the top of the souvenir shop by the entrance.

"Hey, you there!" said the cashier fairy to the spaced-out woman in front of her. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to buy—" she ducked below the cash register as Reimu tossed a dozen needles at her head. By the time she stood up to protest, the woman was gone

In a few minutes, Reimu found herself at the doors of the library. The building, large but ordinary, stood silently to the north of the estate, surrounded by a small courtyard. Above the doors, there was a small bronze plaque emblazoned with a red "7". Below it were the symbols of the seven elements. _Just like Patchy, _Reimu thought. She pulled a letter, adorned with a watermark of red wings, and read the very bottom:

"Once you reach the library, go to the back and open the basement door. The guards have been instructed to let you in. Koakuma will lead you to the scene of the crime.

-R.S."

_It's waiting. Right beneath my feet. Everything that I've been waiting for._ Reimu quickly flew around the library, completely focused on her goal rather than the tengu watching from the library window.

* * *

><p>"…so we mainly keep regular books up there. Some history texts, copies of old newspapers, cookbooks, and one or two basic magic books. We keep all the old grimoires down here in the original library. Can't have every kappa and tengu pawing over the ancient texts, you know?" Koakuma stopped at the end of the spiral staircase, a big grin on her face. "Anyways, here we are! The old library! Brings back memories, don't it?"<p>

"Yes, memories of Patchouli trying to burn the hair off my head and of _your _kunai." Koakuma winced as Reimu landed at the foot of the stairs.

"Ancient memories, Ms. Reimu! This is no time to be focusing on the past! We're working together now, remember?"

"Yes, yes of course." Reimu glanced around at the miles of perfectly aligned bookshelves, twiddling her fingers impatiently. "So, where was the theft?"

"Oh, it's right over there, miko! I'll just…" Koakuma, unsuccessfully, tried to drag Reimu by her sleeve. Reimu simply stared until Koa let go of her shirt. "O….kay, just follow behind me then." Koakuma took off, Reimu trailing her.

"…So, wonderful weather we're having" said Koakuma.

"Uh huh."

"It's already like winter's over and spring's here, even though we haven't had Setsubuun."

"Uh huh." Reimu silently wills Koakuma to go faster.

"Of course, Setsubuun might be a bit troublesome after this little incident."

"Uh huh." Koakuma giggled nervously.

"You know, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Uh, I mean, it's a terrible thing to happen! It's just that ever since Miss Remilia expanded the estate and opened it to the public, I've been worried that something like this would happen."

"Uh huh."

"You see, I've had my hands full with the upstairs library, you know?"

"Uh huh." Reimu silently cursed the youkai's talkativeness.

Well, everybody has their hands full, you know? Meiling has to take care of the entire estate, and Sakuya's been cleaning non-stop since, well, I don't even know! But for me, everybody and their shikigami comes in here and asks for 17 books to be checked out. I barely spend any time in the old library anymore, and with Patchouli as she is—"

"Where is the Seven Days Magician anyways?" Koakuma turned to Reimu, flying backwards.

"Oh, her asthma's gotten a lot worse lately. She's been hooked up to one of the new kappa contraptions." Reimu frowned at this. "It helps her, but it's bulky, so she rarely comes out of her personal quarters." With a wave of her hand, she gestured to a staircase in a far-off corner. "Even with the machinery, she hasn't been able to talk in weeks, so you'll just have to put up with me." With a playful shrug, Koakuma turned around.

"Still, wasn't she supposed to be decoding the journals? Shouldn't we at least check if she has anything to—" Koakuma suddenly dove down between two bookcases. "Hey, wait!" she shouted as she followed.

"Here we are! The scene of the crime!" Reimu gazed at the empty hole at the very bottom of the lines of books. "I'm not sure how much this'll help you. It was weeks between when I discovered the theft and the last time that I checked this place. For all I know, any clues could be…hey, what are you doing?" Reimu looked up from where she was sniffing the bookcase.

"There's no smell. Alice used to stuff her dolls with gunpowder. She and her dolls always smelled of it. You couldn't walk by her house without smelling sulfur. You _still_ can't." Reimu stood up, stroking her chin. Koakuma nodded, her smile still plastered onto her face.

"Ah, yes, of course! Heh, you see, I never knew much of the doll magician myself, you know? She came by occasionally, but Patchouli usually had me doing something or another when she was—"

"It means that…" Reimu paused. _Wait, why am I going to mention such things to such a blabbermouth? This is Alice's business, not hers. _ "…the journals were taken a while ago. If it was recent, then the bookshelf would still smell."

"Oh, yes, I see!" Koa twisted a strand of hair around her finger, looking at the floor. "Uh, is that all, Ms. Reimu?"

_Is that all?_ Reimu wondered. _The books weren't taken by Alice or her dolls. Is that really all I can learn from this? I put on this stupid outfit and tolerated Koakuma's prattling for nothing? _She gritted her teeth. _Dammit, I'm an incident solver, not a detective! There has to be something else here! I need something! Anything! I need to know who to shoot to get Remilia to help me! _She shook her head.

"No. I want to look around a bit more."

"Oh, um, really?" Koakuma leaned in a bit, looking interested. "The mistress wanted to talk with you before you left."

"Sorry, that'll have to wait. I have to meet with someone in half an hour. I'll just take a quick look around and let myself out." Reimu turned to leave, but Koakuma grabbed Reimu's shoulder.

"Wait! You'll need someone to help you navigate! This place is huge, remember? What if you get lost?" Reimu thought for a moment before turning away.

"Incident solving is a one-woman job, Koakuma. Besides, don't you have to get back to the library?" Reimu turned around the corner, leaving Koakuma with her hand still outstretched.

45 minutes later, Reimu was still searching the library, examining all the bookcases, looking for the slightest clue. Only after she found nothing, when she dejectedly returned to the staircase to the surface, did she find what she was looking for. Right before she started climbing the stairs, she caught a glimpse of a folded piece of paper below the bannister. Stooping down to grab it, she sneezed as she caught a whiff of sulfur.

_So, _Reimu thought, looking up at the towering staircase, _they came out through the surface library. That stupid ditz must have missed them somehow. Well, at least I have something to follow after I meet with Marisa. _

Reimu opened the paper as she started climbing the stairs. One side was covered in detailed diagrams of various magical circles. Reimu recognized one as Marisa's and another as Patchouli's. Tiny notes were written in the margins concerning the power levels and advantages of each circle, a formidable amount of knowledge that easily bores Reimu. She quickly flips the paper over. On the other side, a rough sketch of a doll, with long white hair and huge eyes, stood beside a few lines in Patchouli's anemic scrawl.

_January 4th, 134_

_After much research, it seems that each of these notebooks was written with a different cypher. Not only does this mean that my decoded cypher for the first notebook can't be applied to the others, it means that my speculations on the other notebooks that were based on that cypher are now baseless. My curiosity over these novels is only rivaled by my worries about them. I doubt that Alice spent all this effort to disguise a simple spell._

_However, there has been some progress. Since I'm no longer working with the old cypher, I am now able to learn the other ones. Particularly, I've finally decoded the list in eighth notebook. It appears to be specifications for a doll that stands 7 feet tall. I've drawn a rough sketch of what it's supposed to look like. Oddly enough, there is no gunpowder on the list of components. Significantly, the list was made late in 2011, and the test reports in the first notebook stop showing "Subject Exploded" in the summer of that year. I have one theory, that this giant doll was the culmination of the experiment listed in the first journal. However, I'll have to finish decoding both notebooks before I can make a conclusion._

_This situation calls for all my effort. We shall continue this research in the morning. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2B: Kourindou

Marisa zipped through the skies on her broom, flying high above the clouds. It had been years since she had last flown. Sanae began to chastise her, as flying wasn't necessary except for solving incidents, and incident solving was _her_ job now. Also, as her trips to "The Wilted Flower" became more and more frequent, she began to crash through houses, which brought medical bills and reimbursement and a host of worries. However, the faster she got to Kourindou, the better. And she felt clearer than she had in ages. As she skimmed the tops of the clouds, flew so close to the sun that broom started sizzling, she felt free.

Too soon, she reached Kourindou. She landed at the front of the store, now adorned with a tacky neon sign. _Kourindou _glistened in the red sun with _W__e Sell Everything_ to the bottom right in cursive blue glass. Even after Kanako's mass expansion, no one went near the Forest of Magic. When Kanako ordered a few humans to cut down the trees for more buildings and streets, they almost immediately fell afoul of the dangerous spores and fell into hallucinatory comas. As such, the forest and the area surrounding it was still fairly undeveloped, and Marisa and Alice never had much trouble with the Wind God's agents.

"Alice…" Marisa let the name linger on her tongue as she went around to the back entrance. After Reimu exiled herself from Gensokyo at large, holing up in her shrine and only accepting the rare visitor, Marisa began spending more and more time with her closest neighbor. More and more afternoons were spent pestering the doll-maker while she worked. Eventually, pestering became confiding, as they began to confide in the stresses of modern life.

"_...and then she told us that I wasn't __**supposed**__ to be flying. Who does she think she is? Her god becomes famous and she thinks she can be all pompous. Reimu beat her so bad that her clothes were shredded, and now she thinks she can boss us around?" A Shanghai calmly poured Marisa a cup of tea while Alice softly patted her on the back._

"_Why didn't you say something? Aren't you supposed to blast anyone who treats you like that?" A Hourai laid the cup in front of her. Marisa took a gulp before continuing._

"_Eh, you can't fight with anyone these days, not even with the spellcard system. Once a disturbance starts, Sanae or the Tengu Force comes down and arrests whoever threw the first punch. Or laser. Or whatever. Either way, they always win. Sanae's almost as powerful as Kanako now, and no one can handle 20 tengu at once." She finished the rest of the tea and slammed the cup down on the table. "Besides, what if I won? If Sanae survived, then she'd report it to Kanako and I'd have spies watching my every move. If I killed her…" Marisa gripped the Hakkero tightly, eyes focusing on a target that wasn't there. "…When Kanako sees a firebrand, she stamps it out until it's smothered completely. She'd burn down the entire forest to kill me." Alice frowned as she laid out the materials for a new doll on her worktable._

"_Perhaps it would be better if you stayed with me for a while. I know that this place isn't pleasant for humans, but my bed is available." Marisa threw her head back and laughed._

"_Trying to go to bed with me, eh?" Alice blushed and focused on her work._

"_Don't be so lewd. I simply don't use it as much these days. I feel like I'm getting closer to my goal every day. I can't spare the hours needed to sleep." Marisa jumped to her feet and took a peek at Alice's work._

"_So, whatcha working on now? Still working on the Goliath Doll?" Alice raised an eyebrow as the Hourai pushed Marisa's seat back under the table._

"_Oh, that? It passed its last test a while ago. I don't think I can extend my studies with it anymore." Alice looked ahead at some far-off memory from her youth. "I'm not even sure if the living doll is necessary anymore. There might be another way." Marisa poked Alice on the forehead, smiling._

"_One of these days, you're going to tell me about this big plan of yours."_

"_Perhaps." Alice replied, with a smile of her own._

"Perhaps…" whispered Marisa as she knocked on the door. Alice was always cagey when she talked about her great mission. It always seemed like something beyond Alice's little projects, something that concerned Gensokyo as a whole. When Alice left without saying anything, without taking anything except a few dolls and some clothes, leaving all the notebooks on a pile on the table, it worried her beyond Alice's disappearance. It felt like something important happened and nobody noticed. So, she was determined to investigate this, with everything she had.

Rinnosuke stood in the doorway for a few seconds, looking at Marisa. Then, he stooped down and hugged her tight.

"Marisa! How long has it been? I've been so worried about you. Come on in! I was just making dinner!" Rinnosuke scooted Marisa in before she could say a word.

The shop was almost unchanged. Besides a few more modern items, it seemed to be the same cluttered mess that had always been there. Rinnosuke cleared a path through the pile of knickknacks for her.

"There you go! Right this way!" Marisa playfully punched Rinnosuke.

"Dammit, Rinnosuke, I grew up in here! Besides, this isn't worse than my house!" She picked out her own path among the junk. A few moments later, Rinnosuke did the same.

"It was foolish of me to teach you how to live in such junk. Now both our houses are a mess."

"Aw, relax, oni-sama. You say it like it's a problem." Marisa reached the floor near the entrance, where a little electric stove held some chicken. She picked out the piece that looked most savoury as Rinnosuke reached her.

"Yeah, I suppose it isn't — at least, for anyone besides your parents." He takes a bit of chicken for himself. "They still visit occasionally." He pauses before continuing. "They were worried that you were spending too much time in that dreary bar." Marisa stopped, the chicken a scant inch away from her open mouth. She threw it back into the pan, her face turning a bit green.

"...crap, they found out about that? About…me?"

"People talk, Mari. I'm surprised that you showed up clean and sober." He offered her a seat next to him on a nearby bench. She sat down, pulling her hat over her eyes.

"…look, it was a difficult time for me. Reimu was long gone, Alice had disappeared just weeks before, and Patchouli was all busy with decoding the notebooks. Everybody from my old life was disappearing. I just wanted to feel…comfortable, for a while. It's so much easier when you just ignore everything and look into your sake and…" Marisa fell silent, tears beginning to seep through her hat. Rinnosuke held her close to him until she stopped.

"But, I think I'm going to be okay now." Marisa raised her hat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Reimu's back, at least for a while. I actually have someone to talk to now."

"Reimu's returned? When?" Marisa told Rinnosuke about Reimu's plan, conveniently omitting how Reimu dragged her from the bar. "Well then! It's nice to see you two working together again. I'd be glad to help you." He got up from the bench and turned back towards the pile. "The dolls should be over—" He froze. Marisa looked and saw a figure dressed as a ninja stuffing the dolls into a giant knapsack.

"Stop! Thief!" The thief absconded through the back door, with Marisa following.

* * *

><p>BZZT! The laser shot towards the thief, far up in the sky. With relative ease, the thief dodged it. Marisa cursed under her breath, balancing on her broom. It had been years since her last battle, and she was rusty.<p>

She switched to her familiar green bullets, spamming them into the sky. The figure picked a path through them, getting through without a scratch. Marisa gritted her teeth. As long as the thief was at that distance, she'd never hit him. She willed herself to go faster.

Eventually, she caught up to the thief. Taking her broom, she stuffed an exploding bottle into the bristles. When she came close enough, she smacked the villain over the head with the broom, sending him to the ground in an explosive blast. She followed the trail of magical smoke back to the ground.

She landed, to her surprise, onlya few meters away from the shop. Rinnosuke ran out to meet her.

"Are you okay? He didn't blast you or anything, did he?"

"…no, actually." To her surprise, she realized that the thief hadn't tried to shoot her once. She shrugged. It was something to think about later. Now, there had to be explanations. She walked over to the thief, who was still sizzling from the blast.

"Alright, wise guy, why are you stealing these…" she stopped. The thief looked strangely familiar, yet radically different. Hand trembling, she pulled the mask from the thief's face. For a brief moment, she saw a brief view of Shanghai's face before her world became fiery gunpowder.


	4. Interlude: Fairies

Intermission 1: Ragtag Bunch of Misfits

_When I am goooone,_

_Don't you go leeeeave me, baby!_

_When I am gooooone,_

_Don't you go cryyyyy for me!*_

Mystia sang to herself as she carried her miniature lamprey grill along the shore of the lake. Even though this wasn't a business excursion, she always brought some merchandise with her. The breeze coming off the water, still half-frozen from the winter, felt chilly through her threadbare dress, and the midday sun hurt eyes that were used to darkness. A yawn struggled to break out between the high notes. No matter. She sang anyways.

It was a hard decision to move her lamprey business to the daytime and start a duo act with Lyrica during the night. She was already exhausted with trying to keep the business afloat after the advent of street lamps, and working in the daytime, when she usually slept, didn't help. But, she told herself, it was worth it. She was already in the red after buying a cart so she could bring her business to the attractions held at the Scarlet Pavilion. She needed every extra cent to keep the business alive. Besides, she had the chance to play with one of the Poltergeist Sisters, albeit the one that people often forgot. Even if they played in a terrible job, she might be able to get a better gig once their contract ran out. She could sing at "The Dark Road", or maybe even "The Sake Bug".

While entranced by her hopes of grandeur, she felt ice through the soles of her shoes. Looking up, she saw that she had reached her destination: a little shed on the shore of the lake, surrounded by ice on all sides. She knocked on the door, a hard knock followed by three little raps on the door. After some muffled yelling, a large, sleepy ice fairy opened the door. She looked up at the night sparrow, confused.

"Mystia? What are you doing here? You don't need ice for your lemonade already, do you? It's not even spring yet!" Mystia shushed Cirno, mussing her hair.

"This is more important than the menu. Is anybody with you?" Cirno turned to check on her roommate. Letty was curled up on the bed, motionless except for the undulating snot bubble on her nose.

"Don't worry about her. She sleeps a lot when winter starts to get warm." Mystia slipped inside the door as Cirno brushed ice off of the only chair that wasn't made of ice. "So, what's up?"

"Cirno, I've been thinking, and I think that it's time." Cirno stared back blankly. "You know, a better time for the mission?" Again, a blank stare. Mystia sighed. "We need to assemble Team 9 again."

"WHAAA—mmpf!" Mystia kept her hand over Cirno's mouth and shushed her until she quieted down. She continued as quickly as she should.

"The miko's returned. I saw her pick the witch out of the Wilted Flower. Something's about to go down. I don't know what, but I think it's going to be big, big enough to distract Kanako. She'll be so focused on the miko and the witch that she won't consider anything we do. This may be our chance to do some real damage." Cirno sat on the edge of her chair, shaking her little legs back and forth.

"Man…this sounds good, but are you sure that the group is ready to make a comeback? We got beat pretty badly last time."

"Well, you're the leader. It's your call."

"B-B-but you're the smart one!" Cirno wailed. "I'm just the one that they listen to! What if I screw up again like last time?" Mystia put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll take the blame for it, if it comes to it. The important thing is that we need to take action. And," Mystia said with a grin, "we'll be useless without our fearless leader." Cirno flew up into the air, a boundless bundle of energy.

"Yeah! I'm the strongest! Nobody's going to take us down!" Cirno grinned upside-down at Mystia. "We'll meet at the usual place, at the usual time!" She rushed out of the shed, leaving Mystia behind. "Don't worry, I'll get Wriggle to call everyone else!" she yelled back.

Mystia, with a smile, closed the shed door behind her.

* * *

><p>"Order, order! I'm calling this meeting to order!" Head Corporal Cirno slammed on the stump a few times with her fist. There was really no need for order. Everybody had found their seats in the alcove that served as their meeting place. No one was talking. Even though they were separated from the Mountain by the Forest, they were still vulnerable in the dark of the night. Still, someone had to set the right mood. "The First Meeting of the Third Nine-Member Youkai Rebel Team has begun." She sat down on the stump, looking intently at Tactical Officer Mystia, who stood from her own stump.<p>

"In case any of you don't know," Mystia began, "we highly suspect that the border miko and the black-white witch are planning something against the Wind God. We have no idea what it is but…Wriggle, you have something to add?" Intelligence Officer Wriggle flew down from the tree she was in.

"The guard from the mansion gave me a letter to send to the border a while ago." Wriggle continued to keep a, rather flimsy, insect messenger service to improve insect status after the advent of widely available pesticides. Though there was high chance of your message being lost due to Wriggle's terrible memory, it was often used by those who distrusted the tengu-run postal service. "I didn't think too much about it then, but it might have something to do with this.

"Good find, Wriggle! So, the vampire, the miko and the witch are all working together against Wind God. Get that down, Daiyousei." Secretary Daiyousei promptly updated the meeting notes from the shadows. "So, while the Wind God is dealing with those three, we'll be able to cause some chaos without getting a lot of her attention! Anybody have some suggestions for the first target?" Mystia waited for a response.

"Uh, we could always try to steal the food truck again." Junior Officer Rumia licked her lips. "We can do what we did last time and give the food to hungry youkai. I know _I'm_ hungry!" Cirno shook her head.

"I don't want to repeat one of our old crimes. Kanako might realize that it's us and get pissed. We need something new."

"How about we sneak into her base and dig up some dirt for the underground newspapers?" said Chief of Espionage Sunny, the other two Espionage Officers agreeing with her. Her and her sisters had become handy at using their hide'n'seek skills for theft and spying. Her eyes gleamed at the chance to spy on the base itself, but Cirno waved her away.

"The underground newspapers are too…underground. I don't even know if they're still being published! This needs to be big!"

"I say we go smash the Tengu Squad." Everybody turned to Medicine, who was leaning on a tree with her arms crossed. "Seriously, why are we pussying out and going for food trucks and newspapers? We should take care of the troublemakers personally." The air grew tense in the meadow. Medicine was the last to join Team 9, after she failed to beat back the encroachers on her own. More often than not, she had fought with the rest of the group over ideas, always trying to lead the group. Still, she always complied when Cirno refused her plans.

Everybody waited for Cirno to say "No, Medicine, it's too dangerous", but she sat in silence. _Maybe she's right, _she thought. _We do need to make a direct hit. But, I can't send them against the Tengu Squad! They kicked our asses last time. _She opened her mouth to speak. "Medicine…your idea is…"

"Excuse me, but I think I have a better idea." Everybody froze at the sound of the alien voice. Then, one by one, they turned towards Daiyousei. "We should try and kidnap Sanae." Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Since Daiyousei showed up on the Misty Lake, out of nowhere, she hadn't said a word. Her name wasn't even a true name; Cirno simply called her that and it stuck. Even though she was Cirno's constant companion in the old days, and participated in many of Cirno's schemes, her thoughts were never clear. Daiyousei shifted uncomfortably under the stares.

"She's powerful because Kanako is powerful now, but she has to call Kanako to use her powers. If we knock her out from behind and freeze her before she recovers, she'll be helpless. And Kanako won't come after us if she knows that we can kill her miko in a second." Gradually, the rest of the group nodded.

"I vote for Dai-chan's plan!" yelled Rumia, waving her hand. The rest followed her, starting with Medicine and Cirno.

"So, it's settled then," said Cirno. "Alright, that's enough for one night. Meeting adjourned!"

* * *

><p>The group dispersed. Medicine returned to the nearby poisonous hill, the Three Fairies returned to their old base in the Forest, Rumia followed Wriggle and Mystia back to the village and Cirno flew back to the lake alone.<p>

_I guess that went well, _she thought as she flew along the edge of the Forest. _Still, it would have been bad if Daiyousei hadn't saved me. _At the sound of a leaf rustling, Cirno froze. Then, knowingly, she turned around.

"Daiyousei?" The green-haired fairy stepped out from behind a bush. "Thank you." Daiyousei nodded with a smile. "Now, stop hiding, will you? You're freaking me out! If you want to be with me, then fly where I can see you!" Daiyousei grinned and flew next to Cirno.

"…It's funny, I guess," Daiyousei whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"Huh?" Cirno waited, but Daiyousei didn't say anything else. "Come on! Don't just say something and not follow up on it!" Daiyousei just smiled. Cirno sighed and kept flying. "Man, why are you being so mysterious all of a sudden?" Daiyousei began to snicker silently.

_It doesn't matter really, I guess. Daiyousei's still my friend. Nothing's going to change that, even this._

* Set to the melody of _Beloved Tomboyish Girl_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Evidence

Reimu cursed quietly as she ran to the meeting place. _How did I let myself be this late! _she yelled to herself. As she whirled around the corner, she stopped. The grilled lamprey stand was closed, and Marisa was nowhere to be found.

Reimu began to laugh in spite of herself. The stress of her long search through the cavernous library evaporated. She sighed, wearing a goofy smile on her tired face.

"What, am I that funny?" Reimu looked up, surprised. Above her, Marisa floated on her broom. Her right arm was completely bandaged, her left holding the bag of dolls, and her clothes were in tatters. "I know, it looks like my arm is mummified, doesn't it?" she said with a grin.

"…what happened?" Marisa stepped down from the broom, wincing a bit, and pulled up her hat by the brim, revealing a few more bandages on her forehead.

"Just got on the wrong side of a thief. But, enough of that. Where's the eats?" Reimu glanced at the lamprey stall, which was still closed.

"Well, we were going to have lamprey, but it looks like the sparrow has something better to do than run her own damn shop. And she's the only place that sells food for cheap." Reimu thought for a while, scuffing her shoes against the curb. "Does that place outside of town still give out free lunch for the poor?

"The poor and the unfortunate." Marisa gave her bandaged arm a flourish. "I guess we count as unfortunate."

* * *

><p>"…And then it exploded, right in my face! Knocked me out completely! Took me half an hour to be able to walk straight." Marisa paused to shovel in some fried rice with leeks. "So, once I got my head screwed back on…" Reimu carelessly spun the tea in her cup with a chopstick, lost in Marisa's story. A waiter, a mousey youkai, asked her if she wanted another pair of chopsticks, but Reimu waved her away without looking at her.<p>

"…I don't get it."

"Yeah, I know. This food is amazing! I can't believe they'd give this away for free! The owner of this place must be a freaking saint!"

"No, not the food! I mean this mess. First, Alice's notebooks, which can't be read by anyone except her, are kidnapped by not Alice. Now, Alice's dolls, dolls that can easily be replaced, are stolen by a human-sized puppet. It's like whoever's planning this is making it up as they go along." Marisa pushed Reimu's plate of bean curd towards her.

"Well, you can't think on an empty stomach! That's what mom used to…" The smile on her face slipped off. She started picking through her dinner silently, as if she was looking for it. Reimu pulled Marisa's chin up, showing her a smile

"Hey, Mari, cheer up! At least your mom didn't leave you with the job of protecting all of Gensokyo when you were 4." Marisa gave a little chuckle

"Yeah. You got the short end of the gohei, eh?" Marisa met Reimu's smile with her own, the two sets of pearls reflecting each other's light. Then, she opened her mouth wide and stuffed in a wad of leeks.

"Hey, I feel smarterer already!" Reimu chuckled and took a bite out of her own plate.

"So, Reimu, what do you think about this whole situation, eh?" Reimu took a sip of tea, her mind back on the case.

"…the Shanghai girl has to be Alice. It's probably related to the project that Patchouli mentioned, a smaller version perhaps. So, she's back and meddling from somewhere." Reimu gulped down the tea, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "So, the notebooks should also be hers. I'll have to take another look around the mansion again."

"Should I come along? I'd like to see Patchy's library again." Reimu shook her head.

"Go back to Kourindou and look at the giant puppet. Alice had to get her materials from somewhere. There might be a clue." Reimu wielded her chopsticks with wicked glee. "But nevermind that. This is the best plate I've eaten in years!"

The two began to tear ravenously through their dinners, grabbing greedily with their chopsticks and not caring if their faces were stained as long as the food got to the mouth. Though they should have been gawked at, they were in like company. On the table nearest to them, a little ball of darkness held a little girl chomping on some stir-fried vegetables. Two tables to the door, an umbrella and a girl bearing boatlights ate out of the same dish. Everywhere, humans and youkai took a bite out of their own hunger, out of the troubles of their everyday lives, out of the mountain god whose whims controlled their very lives. They ate without caring, and were satisfied, save for the two that were watching.

From deep inside the restaurant (formerly a granary), a black-white saint-witch with a caring heart watched as the poor of the village-city ate to their hearts content. Quietly, Byakuren held a hope in her heart, tied up with crisscrossing threads, that she might give them knowledge as well as food. She rubbed her hand over the green pendant that gave her this hope.

From the table in the back, where the light doesn't shine, a winged scallywag of a reporter took notes about the two ravenous women, the gears turning under her tokin hat.


	6. Interlude: Wolf and Crow

Intermission 2: Pride (Crows and Wolves)

Momiji leaned on the desk, flicked her tail back and forth as she waited inside the room that she considered her hideout. Officially, it was her office, a standard for a high ranking captain such as herself. However, she rarely used it for work. Paperwork was more pleasant outside, out on the edge of the Moriya Hydroelectric Dam. After finishing one of the numerous mission reports that were asked of her, she could sit on the edge of the dam and look over everything, from the shuffling ribbon of worshippers bringing tribute to the dynamic kappa factories at the base of the mountain. On a clear day, she could see straight across Gensokyo, catching every glimpse of beauty that remained in the illusionary land. In a way, she thought, even the new, block-like buildings had a beauty to them. Best of all, she could take in the mists of the waterfall and reminisce about her old home. Though her cave behind the waterfall was drafty during the winter and sizzling in the summer, she still wished that it wasn't destroyed in the making of the dam.

In a way, her office was all that was left of her home. Buried two stories underground, along with the barracks and the supply chambers, it was mostly made of the greyish stone that formed the core of the mountain. With a door made of inch-thick steel, it was almost soundproof. Most of the tengu officers used this silence for work. Momiji simply lay on her pallet or her desk, whichever was more comfortable at the time, and closed her eyes. The silence echoing in her ears, she would dwell on the incidents of the day, no matter how painful. Besides this frequent meditation, her only use for the room was for confidential conversations. As the door began to open, she knew that such a conversation wasn't far away.

"The exile, Captain" barked a male tengu as he dragged in another tengu. This tengu, besides looking ragged and gaunt, was bound in chains and gagged. The prisoner glared at Momiji as the male tengu continued. "She insisted that she has to speak to the Goddess."

"Thank you, Takeru. Wait outside the door until I'm done." She watched as the steel door closed behind him.

"You know, I didn't even believe my eyes when I saw you trying to walk onto the mountain like nothing happened. I thought my men would call me crazy when I sent to them to pick you up. I thought you'd never come back, not after your little rant." Momiji pulled a chair from the corner and wiped some of the dust off. "Here, you want something to sit on? We might be here a while." She got no response except for a more vicious glare. "I'll take that as a yes. Besides, this'll be easier if we're on eye level." With little difficulty, she lifted the prisoner onto the chair.

"It kind of bothers me that you're back, actually. You're like a vulture. Whenever there's trouble, you always try to get your scoop. At least, that was how it was in the old days. So," she said, pulling the gag from Aya's mouth, "why are you back here anyways?" Aya, after spitting out the taste of the cotton gag, grinned, still glaring from her eyes. It had been a while since she'd seen her dog-eared rival.

"Oh, well, this is veryimportant information. I can't give it out to just anyone." Aya added extra inflection on "very" and "anyone", testing Momiji's composure. It held, to Aya's annoyance. Momiji simply lounged on the desk and waited. Aya was a natural blabbermouth. She just had to figure out how to set her off.

"Jeez, what's with you and this silent treatment?" Aya snarked. "Can't I talk to someone else?"

"This room is sealed off. Neither of us is getting out of here until I say so. And, unlike you, I've eaten in the past few days." Aya flinched at the mention of her starvation. Momiji saw it and aimed for it. "Perhaps I should let you tell Kanako whatever bit of gossip you've picked up. She might let you pick up scraps in the barracks after we eat." That did it.

"It's the border miko! The border miko's been snooping around town with the witch girl!" Momiji shrank back from the news as if it was water bursting out of a hose. "There's your gossip!" Aya spat out.

"I…really don't believe it. You, of all people, crawling back to Kanako like a dog!"

"The hell?" Aya tried to compose her thoughts before continuing. "You…you badger me, insult me into giving you such prime information…and you curse at me for it?" Momiji met Aya glare for glare.

"You don't remember that little speech you gave when Lord Tenma pledged allegiance to Kanako? That we were all a bunch of fools for following him, that we'd just become Kanako's personal lickspittles? What the hell happened to you?" Aya paused in mid-retort.

"…"The glowing, red glare faded from Aya's eyes, yielding to a dull bitterness. "You…really don't know what I've been doing since I left the mountain?" Momiji sat up in surprise. To her surprise, she realized that she hadn't seen or heard about Aya since she left 8 years ago. After a moment, she realized that her hackles were raised and she was quietly snarling under her breath. She went back to her relaxed slouch. New information or not, she was still supposed to be in control.

"Us white wolves are strictly on guard duty. We get our orders and follow them. Only the spies get to stay in the city and get information, and most of us don't even know who's a spy." Aya began to relax, as much as the bounds allowed her. _So, _she thought, _they just don't know._

"I'll tell you then. At least you're _required_ to listen to me."

"After _none_ of you agreed with me and kicked me out, I decided to go down into the underground. I figured that since the "no crossing the surface rule" is now moot, nobody would mind if I made a little place to run my own printing press. Yeah, you heard me. I figured that Kanako would make you guys publish a whole bunch of garbage about how awesome she is, which she did. What's today's headline again? "Kanako Makes an Appearance at "The Sake Bug"? I've seen more interesting stuff in Akyuu's stuff? What, you've never heard of her? Don't bother saying anything; I can see it in your face. You never got off the mountain much before Kanako, did you?" Momiji thought about squeezing a word in edgewise, but she thought better of it and listened.

"So, I convinced the oni to let me make a printing press in an old building. I managed to put out an issue every three months, for about four years. Sold the papers in the back alleys, used the money to get some ink and paper, dodged all the tengu who'd report me. The oni, as part of our agreement, let me eat at their parties, and I could occasionally sneak into the agricultural reserve and trick the Aki sisters into giving me a month's worth of food. It was tough, but it would be worth it to prove you guys right. But then…" Aya glared towards the ground, towards some target, some hulking beast beneath the ground.

"The oni sold me out, the big boss with the red horn." Her knuckles clenched white under the chains. "Do you know what I _did_ so I could stay in the first place? I crawled on my hands and knees and _begged!_ And they kicked me out so they could get in Kanako's good graces, just like everybody else."

"After that, I just bummed around. What else could I do? I barely escaped before the oni smashed up my place. Even when I tried to get another place, no one would take me. After all," she grinned bitterly, "I'm a tengu, a newspaper tengu, one of Kanako's little spies. If they trusted me for a moment, I'd scamper up to the mountain and tell Kanako all about it! That's when it hit me. No one's going to listen to a tengu reject, and if nobody's listening to me, then I'm nobody." For a moment, Momiji thought she saw tears in Aya's eyes. "So, I decided that it was no use fighting it. If everybody thinks that I'm a spy, then dammit I might as well be one!" Aya closed her eyes, locking the tears away, as the last shriek of rage echoed off the stone walls,

Silently, Momiji undid the chains. They fell in rings at Aya's feet. She slowly stretched out one arm, then the other, unfolding her wings and twiddling her fingers. All the while, she kept her eyes on Momiji, who stood mute before her, as she slid her hand to the pocket where she kept her fan. In all her long life, she had never heard of a prisoner being unchained before officially being released. Whatever the wolf tengu was planning, it certainly wasn't protocol. As she reached her weapon, the wolf began to talk.

"Don't try to attack me. And don't try to escape; the door's still locked. I didn't free you so you could die fighting me." Aya, obligingly, replaced the fan. "I…just wanted us to talk like equals."

"Equals?" Aya scoffed. "Please. In case you haven't noticed, you're the one with the sword that's as long as my leg! The only 'good' thing about taking the chains off is that your conscience doesn't hurt so much." In her mind, Momiji grudgingly agreed. Though she spent much of her time watching the village, she had not seen Aya. She had not heard of the existence that she scraped out for herself. And yet, she _should_ have.

"Look, Aya, I know that we haven't had the best relationship in the past, but—"

"You called me an impudent pest when I first started getting articles."

"You were slinking around the officer's quarters and gathering gossip!" Immediately, Momiji resented her outburst. She was already driving Aya away with this argument.

"Well, anyways, if you want us to be 'equals' so much, then let's talk about how we're both traitors!" Momiji's ears peaked up at Aya's grin.

"What?"

"Hey, if _I_ betrayed the tengu by leaving, then _you _betrayed them by staying, Miss Ranking High-Ranking Captain! You wanted to blast me for coming back, after nearly starving to death! And yet you're here in your comfy office, one of Tenma's most prized commanders, and let Kanako turn the great tengu society into toadies and lickspittles and dragon knows what else?" Momiji choked down a rant. Using all her power, she focused a calm, piercing gaze at Aya and continued.

"I stayed because I actually have a sense of duty — something that you lack. I swore my allegiance to Tenma and I won't betray him, even if I don't approve of his decision. Besides, as long as I'm still here, I can do more good to the tengu, well, my tengu, than you could from the outside. I make sure that the white wolves are treated fairly, that the business tengu are still allowed to do their business—"

"…that important information doesn't get to Kanako? Like information about troublemakers?" For a moment, the tension in the room locked them into place, as if they'd been frozen by a stray ice fairy. The important intel that began this argument had been forgotten by both parties, and its sudden reappearance set Momiji on edge. It seemed like the littlest word would shatter everything into dust. However, the final sentence had to be said, to release both of them. Bracing herself, Aya continued. "You're working against Kanako." As the tensions broke, both of them realized that their hands were on their weapon.

"…Like I said. I can do more good to the tengu from here." Momiji did her best to smile cheekily, but all Aya saw were two lines of teeth.

"I can report you."

"I'm one of the highest ranking officers on the mountain. Your word against mine." Aya gripped the fan carefully, ready to swing in a moment.

"You can't kill me."

"Why would I? Kanako emphasizes letting prisoners live. You can't squeeze information out of a corpse. Killing you would raise suspicion." _Besides_, Momiji thought, _I don't want you to die. I watched you as you rose up in society. You're not a bad tengu. You don't deserve this. _However, Momiji kept these thoughts behind an air of aloofness. It was bad enough that Aya had seen through her distractions and guile. She had to keep control of the situation.

"You know, Aya, we could always use a spy." Aya glared, her temper roused again.

"Oh, no! You don't understand. Kanako remembers me. She's not going to let me back in unless I have something for her, something good! Those two are my biggest bargaining chip, and I'm not going to let it go!" Momiji saw that it was useless.

"I'll send you away with the guards. I'll tell them that you've committed some dastardly crime. That'll keep you in the dungeons for a good while." _Have to keep up the façade, _Momiji thought.

"I'll yell at the top of my lungs that the miko's planning something. When the miko strikes, _someone_ will be looking very suspicious." Momiji sighed.

"Very well." Momiji walked to the door and pushed on it. It fell open at her touch. The guard outside snapped to attention.

"Takeru, be prepared to take her to the goddess. I'll be done in a moment." Takeru nodded as Momiji closed the door. Aya simply gawked in surprise as Momiji walked to her desk.

"Oh, don't be so shocked. The door doesn't even have a lock." Momiji rustled through her desk until she found what she wanted. She presented a box of chocolates to Aya, whose eyes bugged out at the sight of it.

"Aya…this isn't a trick. Or a bribe. It's a treat that I keep for myself. I want you to have one." Aya looked long and hard at those chocolates, but she finally turned away.

"I don't need your sympathy." Momiji nodded and knocked on the door

_Amazing. _Momiji kept repeating the word as she sat on the edge of her desk. _Amazing. 6 years of this and it's her, of all people, who figures it out._

She made a bad job of it, in retrospect. Too emotional, too heartfelt in her arguing. A good interrogator never lets the victim get inside her head, which was all too easy for Aya to do. She should have just ordered the guards to escort Aya off the mountain. But no. She had to confront the reporter herself. How foolish.

She pulled a green pendant from her chest as she prepared to leave the room, cursing silently. She was going to catch so much hell for this.


	7. Interlude: Three Goddesses

Intermission 3: Gensokyo's Crown (Three Goddesses)

Every ruler, de facto and de jure, has had a seat of power. There must be a place from which orders are dispatched, to which underlings report, a nexus that binds the ruler's power to the land itself. Establishing such a place is necessary for a leader to start expanding in power. The emperor had Kyoto, the shoguns had Edo, and the mountain goddess had her shrine.

Kanako had, very briefly, considered creating a new seat of power. A shrine was a place of religious power, capable of inspiring faith in the populace. However, religious places are rarely fortified against gun-wielding dissidents (though very few guns were given to the populace at large, a few always managed to leak out). In the end, the obvious choice was compromise. The shrine became the center of a fortress, a veritable citadel surrounded by a stone wall. Worshippers bringing tribute had to snake through passageways, monitored constantly by wolf tengu, to present their offerings to her shrine maiden. Those with special requests or offerings met with the goddess in the inner shrine. Here is where Aya bowed down to the lady of the sky.

Kanako listened to Aya as she spilled out her story, musing on her mat. It was worrisome enough that the tengu turncoat had crawled back, begging forgiveness. What she was saying was even worrisome.

"…so I decided to come and inform you of their presence, my…lady." Aya, having finished, waited for Kanako's response.

"…You have done us a great service," Kanako murmured after much deliberation. "Though we are not in need of your services right now, you can stay in the quarters with the other crow tengu."

As soon as Aya left, escorted by two guards, Kanako sunk her head into her hand, sighing. There was a faint vibration through the stone floor, then footsteps. Kanako went rigid as two arms hugged her from behind.

"Not now, Suwako." Kanako pushed Suwako's arms away as she stood up. Suwako scowled and hopped back.

"Do you have to get all stiff every time something comes up?" Kanako held back another sigh.

"Are you going to go on about stress again? For the last time, I'm a goddess! So are you! We don't have to worry about heart attacks or blood pressure or—"

"Emotions?" Kanako fell silent. _Dammit, _she thought. It was bad enough that Suwako would always pop out of the ground when she was busy. It was worse when she'd start pestering her about things she didn't want to talk about. What a pest. Doesn't do anything except bicker.

"Look, we're not having this right now." Kanako walked towards the door. "We have to close the shrine early."

"Yeah, I was listening. Miko's returned and you have to go smash her, eh?" Kanako dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand and a snort. _More immature every day, _she thought.

"Please. I already knew the miko was back." Kanako flinched as Suwako popped out of the ground before her.

"Whaaaaaat?" said Suwako, tilting her head quizzically. "And you didn't squash her?" Kanako sighed. Suwako was being insistent again. Might as well get this out of the way.

"It was reported to me as soon as she was summoned. She was called to take care of relatively minor incident. So I let it lie. She might just solve her little incident and go back home. There has already been enough trouble lately with all the thefts from the factory. Angering a powerful shrine maiden who I can't kill would just add to it."

"But she's not just incident solving. She's hooked up with her little witch crony. The crow saw them talking in the restaurant that the Buddhist set up. The _same_ Buddhist who tried to take us down earlier." Kanako grabbed Suwako by the shoulders and began to shake. "Don't you understand, you lazy toad? She's meeting with my greatest foes! Conniving against me, again! She'll stir up the population, the population that I work so hard to keep happy, by calling us dictators and tyrants! Just like that band of ragtag misfits did before! And that crow before that! And it never stops!"

In a swift motion, Suwako broke Kanako's grasp on her. Kanako stared blankly for a moment. Then, she covered her forehead, taking deep breaths. Suwako waited patiently. In the past 10 years of Kanako's rule, Suwako's felt the brunt of dozens of such rants. She had become used to it. After all, a stressed goddess needs someone to vent to.

"…they don't understand." Kanako continued, still breathing heavily. "We give them the finest technology available, we mass-produce the Lunarian's glorious medicine for them, we bend over backwards to make them happy. And YET there's always someone complaining about how the old days were better. We prevent human-youkai conflicts, fully introduce youkai into human society, and they say it's disrespecting their heritage. They form their secret societies against me and plot against me. And I can't just crush them outright, because then the people will dislike me and I'll lose faith. But if I don't crush them somehow, then they'll put up a great show denouncing me. And I'll lose faith." Suwako caught Kanako as she slumped to the floor.

"And I'm afraid of dying."

Suwako carried Kanako back to her pallet and laid her there. _Told you so_, she thought, but she dared not speak it. She just wiped the sweat off of Kanako's forehead with her sleeve, watching her eyelids flutter.

"Suwako…was it ever this bad when you ruled Suwa alone?" Kanako whispered weakly.

"Well, there were always a few rabble-rousers. It was never as bad as this, though."

"Then…what's wrong with me?"

"Maybe you're just not cut out for this." Like clockwork, Kanako's eyes flipped open. Suwako sighed as Kanako tried to wind up for another spiel.

"Don't you go on about this again! This is my land! I conquered it fair and…fair and square!" Kanako querulously droned, weakly waving her arm. Suwako paid no attention to her and started massaging her muscles. Either she relaxes Kanako or Kanako winds down by herself and falls into a coma-like state. All of these arguments ended one way or the other.

"Listen, I'm going to go get Sanae to find Reimu. You just stay here and cool down. We'll talk later, eh?" Kanako tried to protest, but she fell silent as everything started to fade.

* * *

><p>Kanako woke up to the low ring of the curfew bell. She blinked until she could see properly in the dim room. Slowly, a table and a TV formed in front of her. To her left, a refrigerator and a stove came into view. She came to realize that she was in the living room that she and Suwako built when Sanae came to live with them.<p>

_Suwako must have moved me, _she thought. She got to her feet, wincing at the remaining post-rage headache, and pulled up a chair at the table. Though she was used to the traditional crossed-leg style, the style she used when receiving tribute, she preferred to use the wooden-backed chairs that Suwako made. It only took her a few seconds to create a tree in the right shape, legs and all.

When the old shrine maiden died, after 325 years of service, it felt unusual to bring in a girl born to a salaryman in Tokyo. Yet, out of the thousands of Suwako's descendants, she was the one who had the spark. So, when Sanae came toddling into the shrine, Suwako did all she could to make a home for her. Luckily, she was still too young to understand that there was something unusual about having two mommies, much less that they were immortal.

The new blood in the shrine proved to be a good thing for both of them. A decade after she came into the shrine, she began asking for a laptop, and a TV, and a host of other gadgets. Suwako spent much of her time beating Sanae in fighting games while Kanako took an interest in how they were made. When they decided to leave to Gensokyo, making technology their focus was an obvious choice.

Kanako smiled. Nostalgia had wiped her anger away.

As she got up from her chair, she heard a familiar buzz. With a groan, she turned around. Before her, there was a small rip in the fabric of space, revealing a horde of eyes. A low hum, like a wet finger on a glass, pulsed through the room as Yukari entered.

"Good evening, Yasaka-san!" she said as she pulled up a chair at the table. "I trust you slept well?"

Kanako sighed and took her place at the table. Yukari's monthly visits were, like Suwako's comments, unavoidable. Yukari whipped out her fan and hid the smile on her face. It was a warm, candid smile, something that bothered Kanako all the more. When a normal person seems candid, it makes it easier to trust them. When a trickster seems candid, it means that you don't have a clue about what they're up to.

"Can't we just get this over with?" said Kanako. "We both know what's coming next. You're going to ask me—" here, Kanako switched to a perky voice. "—'So, Kanako, are you enjoying your rule?' and then I'm going to say 'no, it always stresses me out', and then you're going to say, 'Perhaps I can do something about it' and then I'm going to tell your meddling face to go to hell. It's been the same thing every year for 10 years. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"You know, I was just in the Former Hell the other day. Had some sake with the head oni."

"Uh huh."

"There's a new excavation project underway that leads to an unexplored cavern. They're really excited about it."

"Yeah, yeah."

"And she thought that you could use a break." Kanako began to speak, but the words stopped before her mouth did. In a moment, she knocked Yukari out of her chair with a burst of wind. In another, she pinned her to the floor with a single hand, trembling heavily. The other one slammed into the floor, putting a hole through the wooden floor and the rock under it. She briefly savored the surprised expression on Yukari's face and began to speak.

"Yukari, I am tired. A rebellion threatens my power. I've had an argument with my best friend. And I just got rid of a really bad headache and you're bringing it back. I'm not tolerating you here, not tonight." Yukari, bemused, tried out a number of expressions. A smug snake smile, a cutting glare, a crazed madman's grin. Eventually, she decided on a playful pout.

"_Well_, if you don't appreciate the work that I've put into this relationship, I guess I'll just _go_ then! Besides—" She blinked, swapping her usual eyes for the inhuman eyes of the gap. She glanced around a room 70 feet below them before she stared again into Kanako's bemused face. "—you have something to attend to." With that, she sunk into the floor as if she had never been.

Kanako barely had time to wonder what she meant before a guard burst through the door yelling "Goddess, we need you!"


	8. Chapter 5a

The sun slowly set on the surface of the Misty Lake. The clouds began to glow red and orange and purple, a last hurrah before the night. Meiling smiled, watching the colorful spectacle through her sleepy eyes. She could only spare herself a few minutes of freedom each day before Sakuya found her, but it was worth it to sit on the shore and watch the spectacle.

For a moment, she let herself doze off – only for a moment. It was a danger to lose track of the world, even for a moment. The pressure of living under a police state bred desperation, and desperation lead to danger. She still remembered vividly the last time she wasn't careful enough. The cuts on her arm often opened up while doing chores, and her eye was still sore.

The dull crunch of someone landing on the sand awakened Meiling. she sprang to her feet, fists clenched. She barely managed to stop herself before swinging a fist into Reimu's face. Reimu stared at her in surprise as Meiling laughed sheepishly.

"Good grief, Reimu, you can't just sneak up on me like that! Couldn't bother with the front door, huh?"

"Well, I was hoping that I could avoid Ms. Perky the Demon by going through the back way." Reimu looked at the bandages covering Meiling's arms and face. "From the looks of you, it looks like every danger comes from across the lake." Meiling brushed the bandage over her eye, self-consciously.

"Eh, just problems with the job. Don't worry about it. So, you've already met with Koa?"

"Yeah. She just kept rambling on about pointless stuff. I could barely think with her chattering, much less work." Meiling smiled ruefully.

"Trust me; I know how she can be a pain. Have you talked to Patchouli yet?"

"Isn't she supposed to be sick with—"

"You should really talk to her before you go. She probably misses you." Reimu nodded, doing her best to hide her bemusement. In all the years that she had known Patchouli, she couldn't remember one time when she wanted _anybody's_ company, much less hers. The only reason she tolerated most visitors was because Remilia would hijack the library for her parties if she didn't.

"Alright, thanks for the advice. So, what's the quickest way to the library?"

"Actually, the Mistress would like to see you before you return to the library" said Sakuya, lazily twirling her pocketwatch. In the seconds before she unpaused time, Sakuya pushed Meiling back and took Reimu's arm. She now gripped it as Meiling slunk back. "After all, it's been years since the two of you have talked. I'm sure you have much to talk about."

"…you've gotten faster" was all that Reimu could say.

"Good. I shall accompany you." Sakuya caught her pocketwatch and set it. "Meiling, get back to work." Meiling watched as the universe skipped a beat and the two disappeared.

(Just a quick word from the author. This is only the first part of this chapter. I know I haven't posted anything in the last few months, so I'm posting this chapter in sections to pad out the number of updates in the last few weeks. Thanks to my followers for waiting so long for me to pull up my socks and get back to work)


	9. Chapter 5b

Reimu felt the world stop as she was rushed through the mansion, flying through dozens of interlocking corridors. It felt like time itself was trying to pull her back into place, and only Sakuya's steady arm kept her in motion. It was all she could do to steel her stomach.

Then, as quickly as it stopped, time began to flow again. Reimu clutched her stomach as the pocketwatch began to wind down. They stopped in front of two mahogany double doors. Reimu fell to her knees and struggled to not throw up.

"It's okay…I'll be *gasp* fine." In a few moments, she managed to stagger back to her feet. Sakuya stood stiffly as Reimu managed to compose herself. Her face belied any emotion that she may have felt; not even a scowl of impatience crossed her lips.

"Ready?" Reimu looked towards Sakuya. As far as she could tell, Sakuya hadn't moved, much less opened her mouth. Still, there was no one else in the hallway. She nodded cautiously and the doors immediately swing open, as if they were kicked in.

The doors opened into a lavish bedroom, colored in shades of coral and carmine. Each wall was adorned with a picture window, mostly hidden by red curtains. The floor was covered in luxuries, ranging from a tea set of gold and ivory to a brand new Sega Dreamcast. On the far side of the room, in front of a bed large enough to hold a dragon, the Scarlet Devil herself stood in an elegant pink dress. The scene could be dismissed as an eccentric princess's room. Only the lack of mirrors and the smell of dried blood revealed anything amiss.

"Reimu, Reimu!" said Remilia, sipping out of a silver teacup. "I'm glad to see that you're so eager to work on this case!" With a gleaming smile, she opened her wings and approached Reimu. "I must apologize for not meeting you earlier! Things are more and more stressful these days. You happened to catch me during one of my few naps."

It seemed almost like Remilia had never aged. Her fingers were as dainty as able; her clothes, beyond a few embellishments, were exactly the same. She could almost fool herself into thinking that it was her first adventure again, that she was reliving that climactic moment. But, even the immortal vampire was wearing down. Her eyes bore the evidence of sleepless days, and a noticeable weight gain revealed her stress.

"Hello, Remilia," said Reimu, nodding her head. "I was just coming back to check around the library again. Have to make sure that I didn't miss anything."

"So, how has the investigation been going?"

"Well…"

Reimu told Remilia about the results of her research (save for the information concerning Alice's return). Remilia sipped three cups of blood (every time the cup ran empty, it would be full a moment later) as she digested the information.

"…and then I went to go think it over with a bite of food." Remilia, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, began to pace.

"It's all a messy business, isn't it? I envy you at times, Reimu, for having the courage to bow out. I refused to uproot myself and, well, here we are. One carefully hidden scandal away from losing what remains of my reputation." Remilia turned and stared at Reimu, startling her. "Hakurei, you need to do the right thing here. I can't afford another misstep."

"Well, in order to understand what must be done, I'll have to finish my investigation." Remilia laughed.

"Ah, yes, I guess you've been held up long enough. Sakuya!" Sakuya appeared a step behind her mistress, head bowed.

"Yes, milady?"

"Escort Reimu to the library, if you please."

"Certainly." Reimu sprang back as Sakuya reached out to grab her arm.

"My apologies, Remilia, but I'd rather take the scenic route this time." Remilia shrugged.

"Sakuya, escort her as she wishes." Sakuya bowed and quickly shooed Reimu out the door.

"So, are you ready to go?" asked Sakuya.

"Yes, but can I ask you a question first? Can you tell me what happened to Meiling?" Sakuya suddenly turned away. For a few moments, Reimu thought she saw Sakuya shaking, as if she was restraining a sob. Then, stoic again, Sakuya turned back to Reimu.

"In these times, we're required to be loyal to our masters. Perfectly loyal. Every minute of our time must be spent ensuring that the mistress is stable, safe, secure. Meiling is responsible for the disruption that brought you here. She had to be punished." Sakuya clenched her fists as she continued calmly. "She is my coworker of many years, an ally whom I've known almost as long as the mistress herself. It was a matter of principle, nothing more. This mansion is not what it once was. Neither is the mistress. " On that ominous note, Sakuya began walking. "We can't allow ourselves to be sloppy. And I can't allow you to keep me here. Are you coming or not?" With worry in her eyes, Reimu followed Sakuya down the first of many corridors.


	10. Chapter 5c

"Hello, Reimu! Came back to snoop around some more, eh?" said Koakuma as Reimu started coming down the stairs. Reimu politely smiled and nodded.

"Just making sure that I didn't miss anything, Koakuma." Reimu walked past Koakuma and continued towards the crime scene.

As she walked, Reimu mulled on everything that had happened. Patchouli's conspicuous absence, Meiling's battle wounds and Sakuya's cryptic words presented an unusual situation. Something was wrong in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, something besides the mysterious theft, something more terrible. Could it be that this was the incident that she had been called to solve, rather than the theft? Quickly, she looked behind her, checking for Koakuma. Then, she split from the path to the crime scene, diving between bookshelves.

She started from the north wall and went counterclockwise, opening every door that she could see. There had to be one door that led from the library to Patchouli, at the very least. Eventually, on the south side of the library, she saw a door emblazoned with a purple '7'. Just as she reached out to open it, a gust of wind knocked her down. When she looked up, she found Koakuma peering at her, holding an old, cracked grimoire.

"What are you doing here?" said Koakuma, poised to attack. "Patchouli's not accepting visitors." Reimu quickly tried to remember where all of her weapons were.

"I just wanted to talk to her about the incident," she said as calmly as she could. "I thought that she'd be able to give me a different view on the—" Koakuma dismissively waved her hand.

"Reimu, we both know you're smarter than that. You don't trust me, so you're going to talk to my former boss. I understand that. However…" Koakuma's eyes began to glow purple as a magical circle began to spin beneath her feet. "…I cannot let you do that." As she began to mutter some dark language beneath her breath, the room was suddenly cloaked in shadows. Reimu, her shock broken by the sudden darkness, tried to fire a seal at Koakuma, but Koakuma deflected it with a blast of wind from her wings. In moments, Reimu couldn't see her hands in front of her face.

"I really am glad that we can finally talk, Reimu. That corny dialogue was killing me." The voice was lower and deeper than before, but it was still recognizable as Koakuma's. It echoed across the library, seeming to come from all directions at once. "It's as if this mansion can't survive without a dozen secrets behind every door. I've been here for 40 years and I still barely know anyone in this damned mansion. So, now that I have a captive audience, let me tell you a story."

"Two thousand years ago, a devil was born in another world. Now, this devil was very small, even when she was a child, but she had great magical potential, a rarity for youkai. Besides the natural magicians, most youkai only have one or two natural abilities. So, she traveled to the homes of magicians, human and youkai, to control her power. She became renowned for her ability to create darkness, besides her other abilities, and she became a leader among the devils of that world, a terror to any human who crossed her."

"One day, a magician came to her palace. She was practically a child, no older than 20 years old, thin and sickly. She came to her begging, _pleading_ for an apprenticeship. Unlike many of the others who came to her, she didn't ask her about controlling darkness. She had aspirations beyond merely copying what she had already done. So, in a great act of foolishness, the deviltaught her how to create spells that could channel her power into anything she wished, and she used the devil's hown techniques to defeat her and bind the devil to her will."

A look of horror spread across Reimu's face as she realized what Patchouli had done.

"Yes, Reimu. I have been enslaved by my former protégé for the past 40 years. Stifled, suffocated, stuck as a mere servant. My power was siphoned when she defeated me, and my grimoire was stolen to add to her own research. But times have changed, and I was given the tools to regain my power. Once I am finished here, I shall return to my world as the goddess I once was." In the darkness, a pair of eyes appeared, glowing purple with great power. "Today, I am Kimichi, Child of Vina, Empress of Darkness! No one, not even you, shall make me a servant ever again!"


End file.
